


Legacy

by WornOutBumblebee



Category: Star Wars: Rebels
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Force Sensitive OC, Found Family, Friendship, Gen, Hera is an empath, Hera is best space mom, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Kanan and Hera as best space parents, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Self-Indulgent, Trans Male Character, beta read by CassidyRose
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-06
Updated: 2020-05-14
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:40:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,435
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24040696
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WornOutBumblebee/pseuds/WornOutBumblebee
Summary: Alternate title: Whats in a Name?While stopped to refuel on the planet of Hosnian Prime, Ezra meets a stranger. He sees himself in the younger boy and makes a spur of the moment decision that will change things permanently for everyone aboard the Ghost.This is the first thing I've actually written in a few years. Trying to get my confidence back, so please don't flame. Beta'd by CassidyRose, the best English Major. <3
Relationships: Ezra Bridger & Kanan Jarrus, Kanan Jarrus/Hera Syndulla
Comments: 2
Kudos: 9





	1. Call him Caleb

**Author's Note:**

> Possible trigger warning for this chapter: Mild offhanded comments about past child abuse of a character. Like super mild. It doesn't bother me but that's because of how I've handled my own trauma. Might bother other people though.

Caleb had been well behaved for more than a year. At first, he had just given up. The last four years of escape attempts had all been foiled and had led to him being stripped and beaten; once more would be no different. But as time wore on, he had become restless again. There was only so much cruelty a person could take before they snapped. Caleb had a historically long fuse, having endured a more-than-averagely cruel childhood. But again...there was really only so much a person could take. 

So here he found himself, walking through the city, sneaking through back alleys, trying to find a way out. Getting through the busy city wasn’t the problem. He had plenty of experience dodging people and obstacles, climbing walls, fences, and gates. He had a history of using the city’s surfaces as his own personal jungle gym. And the Stormtroopers that the city was crawling in? He could easily get by them. 

The only problem was a thick metal bracelet that gripped his wrist; it had a tracker in it. It wouldn’t be a problem in the beginning; it would only be activated if he was out of bounds, and it would be a moment before anyone came after him. No, the real issue here was the fact that if he went past the invisible boundaries of the city, the bracelet would shock him. It would shock him repeatedly until he was either back within the city walls, or he was unconscious. Then the tracker would come to life. He would be located, dragged back to the shop, strung up and beaten. Not that he was a stranger to that. Subconsciously Caleb touched one of the scars on his arms and chewed nervously at his bottom lip. 

He didn’t know how to turn it off. He didn’t have anything strong enough to break it. He was a fair enough pick-pocket, and currently thinking of stealing a blaster from one of the troopers. He wasn’t sure if a blaster would manage to break the device, though. It was just as likely that he’d lose the hand. Still, maybe a prosthetic wouldn’t be too hard to come by? No, no; it would be. So a blaster was out of the question. 

Just as Caleb was about to move into the next alleyway, someone entered the one he was currently in at a run. The boy was wearing an orange jacket. Caleb knew that look in his eyes; he was running from some kind of trouble. He also wasn’t looking where he was going, evidenced by the fact that he ran straight into Caleb. The boy fell back, landing squarely on the ground. He looked up at Caleb with a panic in his eyes. 

“Hey, don’t worry.” Caleb stuck a hand out to help the kid to his feet. “I’m not gonna hurt you. What’s got you on the run?”

“Uh. My love of exercise! I was just going for a jog, that’s all.” The boy took his hand.

“Yeah. You sure about that? You’ve got blaster marks on your jacket.” Caleb pulled him to his feet, but once he was there the boy pulled away from him. 

“That’s-- those are old.” The boy moved to brush past him, when Caleb noticed what was clipped to his belt. 

A lightsaber, Caleb was almost sure of it. “Hey-- wait. You’re running from some Imperials, right? Maybe I can help you. I know this city like the back of my hand.” 

The boy looked at him, biting at his lip. He looked like he was calculating something. “What’s in it for you?” he asked.

“You’re headed out of the city, right? Let me come with you.” 

“Why?” The boy’s eyes narrowed.

Caleb shrugged. “I’m kinda...wanted around here.”

“What for?”

Caleb shifted a bit nervously, “Common thievery. The usual.” 

“What were you stealing?” he asked. This boy was full of questions. Which Caleb understood of course, what reason did he have to trust a stranger? Still, Caleb only had so much time to get out of the city before his master would wonder where he’d wandered off to. Then on would go the tracking beacon, and this would be his last chance at escape for a while. 

“Food.” It wasn’t even a lie. Caleb often went hungry, and had filched his fair share of food from the local stalls. Davin Kallea saw starvation as an easy and effective punishment for most wrongs the 14 year old committed. Not to mention it was an easier task than catching the boy and beating him. Not to mention, a hungry slave was more likely to do their job than a slave with open wounds. 

The other boy’s face softened a bit. “Are you...are you on the streets then?” he asked. 

Thinking on his feet, Caleb nodded. “Yeah. I’m uh. My parents, they…” he trailed off. 

“You’re an orphan then? I get it; it’s...so you’re just trying to get out of the city? I think I can help you with that. I might even be able to get you off world if you want…”

Caleb’s eyes widened a bit. “Could you really?” 

“Yeah...I mean, I’d have to talk to my, um, my crew, about it but...yeah. If you can help me get past the Stormtroopers, I’ll kind of owe you one anyway, right?”

Caleb nodded enthusiastically. “I can get you past them, easy. Sneaking around past the imps is practically a hobby of mine.”

The kid raised an eyebrow, smiling a little. “Not a fan of Imperials, huh?” 

“Who is?” Caleb snorted. 

The boy shook his head a little and laughed. “You’ve got me there.” He looked Caleb up and down and looked like he was thinking. After a moment, he nodded. “Alright. You take the lead then….uh, what's your name?” 

“You first,” Caleb said. 

The boy looked like he was considering for a moment. “Jabba,” he said, offering a hand to shake.

“Yeah, sure, okay, and my name's Sheev Palpatine,” Caleb said sarcastically. 

The other boy laughed, rubbing the back of his neck as he realized he’d been caught. “Sorry, old habit. You can call me Ezra.”

“Got a last name, Ezra?”

“Got a first name?” Ezra shot back.

“Caleb,” said Caleb. He took Ezra’s outstretched hand and shook it. 

“I think we’ll call that good for now. You wanna get us moving?” Ezra asked.

“Yeah, absolutely.” But Caleb stopped in his tracks. 

“What, what is it?” Ezra asked, frowning. 

Caleb tried to quickly think of a decent lie to explain the tracker bracelet. “Think you could use that lightsaber to cut this thing off? Empire’s tracking me so I can’t make trouble…” he held his wrist up, showing off the clunky mental bracelet. 

Ezra frowned. “Lightsaber, what are you talking about?”

“Yeah. Lightsaber. On your hip? Can we cut to the chase? We’re gonna have to move quick after you cut this; they’ll be after us pretty quickly. 

Ezra frowned, hand on the lightsaber. 

“What? Do you not know how to use it?” Caleb asked, looking around with anxiety. 

“Sorry, I just-- I’m not really supposed to--”

“I get it. You’re having a hard time trusting me. I’m not-- look, I’m just a scared kid, on the run from the Empire. I’m not going to turn you in or attack you.” Caleb held his arm out. “Please just cut this stupid thing off so we can go.”

Ezra nodded decidedly. “Yeah, I guess we can figure out how you know what a lightsaber is later.” he said, and turned the saber on. He carefully sliced through the bracelet. 

“Ah! Okay you got it!” Caleb said, wincing in pain as the saber made contact with his skin. 

Ezra’s eyes widened. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to--”

“It’s fine. I’ve had worse. Come on! Let’s get the kriff out of here,” Caleb said, heading quickly towards the next alley. 

Ezra seemed to keep up well, even with the obstacle course that the back streets of Hosnian Prime were. Caleb was grateful for that. If Ezra had a way to get him off this lousy planet and away from the people who had enslaved him, well, that would be a pretty good start to Caleb’s week. 

They’d almost made it, too. They’d gotten near the entrance to the city and Caleb had motioned for Ezra to wait and be silent. There was a passing group of stormtroopers. They just had to wait for them to go by and they’d be free of the city’s walls. Unfortunately, luck wasn’t quite with the two boys that day. 

“Hey! Hey, stormtroopers! Help me! That boy! Catch that boy!” Davin Kallea was in a foul mood, and he had spotted them. 

The stormtroopers turned to look in their direction, and Caleb groaned. 

“You know that guy? Cause it looks like he knows you!” Ezra said, ready to bolt. 

“Haha. Yeeeeeah. This might as well kriffing happen. Hey, we gotta go now and we gotta go fast!” Caleb gave a tug on Ezra’s sleeve and bolted. 

The Troopers ran after them, shooting. They missed, though, as the Imperial soldiers were wont to do. 

“This way!” Ezra hollered over the sound of blaster fire. 

Caleb followed Ezra’s lead as they entered a docking yard and began ducking and hiding behind the various ships that were there.

“Spread out! We’ve got to find those two!” a stormtrooper shouted. 

“This way,” Ezra whispered, gesturing for Caleb to follow his lead. He pressed a button on his com and began talking into it. “Spectre Six to Ghost. We’re gonna need to hightail it out of here when I get back to the ship. Sorry in advance!” 

The comm sounded and an annoyed voice answered: “Ezra, what did you do?”

“Kanan. Nothing. Really. It’s….uh, all a big misunderstanding.” Ezra kept talking as he led the way through the ships. “It’s just a misunderstanding with the Empire and, well, you know…”

“Yeah, those tend to end up deadly,” the voice on the other end-- Kanan?-- answered.

“Yeah, so--” Ezra began.

“There they are!”

“Ah, Karabast!” Ezra groaned. “Just get the engines going, okay! We’ll be there soon!” 

“We? Who’s we? Ezra, what did you--” Blaster fire droned out the voice on the other end of the comm. 

Ezra ran straight at the stormtroopers. Caleb was suddenly very curious about the other boy’s intelligence. He followed though and was shocked when the stormtroopers went flying out of the way, a clear path through now available. 

“Wh-- What was-- how did--”

“No time to question our good fortune now, kid, let’s move!” Ezra grabbed Caleb’s hand and pulled him forward. 

A ship came into sight. Before Caleb could get a good look at it, Ezra was pulling him aboard. “Hera, let's get out of here!” he hollered, slamming his fist on a button. The ramp of the ship began closing. 

Caleb and Ezra both sat down on the floor of the ship, chests heaving from the effort of their escape. “That's the ship moving. We’re safe now.” Ezra told Caleb, smiling at him and resting a hand on his shoulder. 

Caleb shook his head and put a hand to his still heaving chest. “You have no idea how big of a favor you just did for me. You probably just saved my life.” 

“Hey, it’s no problem, kid. That’s what we do.” 

Hearing footsteps, Caleb looked up. Standing over him and Ezra was a tall man with aquamarine eyes and long dark hair that was up in a ponytail. “You wanna tell me about our new friend, Ezra?” The man crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow down at the two of them. 

“Oh. Yeah! Kanan, this is Caleb. He helped me get out of the city, and I…..sort of told him we’d get him off world.”

“Yeah, you told him that?” Kanan asked, hands moving to his hips now. 

“Well, in Ezra’s defense, he didn’t necessarily guarantee you could get me off world. He said he’d have to ask about that. If you guys can’t that’s-- I mean, I’m not going to be that upset. Just getting me out of the city was a life saving gift I’ll never be able to repay,” Caleb stumbled over his words, hoping to make Kanan less annoyed. He definitely looked annoyed. 

“We can probably get you off world. Where are you looking to go?” A young Twi’lek came down a ladder just then. She was wearing a flight suit, and Caleb decided she must be the captain. 

“Anywhere. The less Stormtroopers around though, the uh, better. And I’d rather take my chances here than on Raysho…” 

“Not Raysho. Got it. I’m the captain of this ship. You can call me Hera. Are you doing okay-- Sorry, I missed the part where you told us your name.”

“Caleb,” said Caleb. 

“Got a last name, Caleb?” Hera asked. She was bent down and on his level, now, smiling gently at him. 

“Uh. Yeah.”

“You wanna tell us what it is?” the one called Kanan asked, sounding like he might be getting to the end of his patience. 

“Right. Yeah. Um. It's. Uh. Yeah, it’s Gist. Caleb Gist.” Caleb was having a hard time making eye contact with Hera at this point, and stared down at his lap, chewing nervously on his lip.

“It’s nice to meet you, Caleb Gist.” Hera said. As soon as she said it, he regretted using his step father’s last name. It made him cringe as he remembered his childhood.

“Hey, are you doing okay, kid?” Hera placed a hand on his shoulder. “You look a little stressed.” 

Was she trying to comfort him? Caleb looked up at her, and felt a gentle wave of calm as he met her eyes. “Yeah. Yeah. Just. I’ve been...I’ve been on the run for a-- a while.”

“Well, you’re safe now. No need to worry. No one’s going to hurt you.” Caleb wasn’t sure he liked the way Hera said that. It felt like she was implying someone had already hurt him. Which, okay; they had. But she was looking at him with a softness that he hadn’t seen or felt directed towards him since he was ten. 

Needless to say, he was feeling a little defensive. “Who says anybody’s been hurting me?” he asked, maybe a little snippily. 

Hera didn’t even blink at his tone, just kept smiling calmly at him. “Well, you’ve got a couple of scars that are pretty visible. The one on your shoulder looks relatively new, too. Was that an accident, then?” 

“I-- It was, I mean. No. But. I. It’s.” Caleb couldn’t find it in himself to lie to this soft and kind woman; not entirely, anyway. 

“It’s...old. I...people. People have hurt me but. But I’m okay. I can handle it. I-- there's been worse.” 

Hera’s expression changed. “Well, I can’t say I much like hearing that. That there's been worse than what’s on your arm. That’s a nasty looking scar.” 

Caleb flinched. 

“Sorry.” Hera had caught the movement. “You probably don’t want to talk about it.”

“Not really,” Caleb agreed.

Hera offered him a hand up. "That’s alright. Everyone has things they don’t want to talk about.” 

Caleb took it and looked around as he was pulled to his feet. He was surprised that he hadn’t noticed Ezra and Kanan move away from them. They were huddled together, talking quietly maybe 7 feet away from him and Hera. Ezra looked up and caught his eye. He sent Caleb a reassuring smile.

Hera’s hand was on his shoulder again. He turned to look at her. She was still smiling a smile that made him feel strangely warm inside. “Do you want to change into something else? I think I’ve got something that’ll fit you.”

Caleb was suddenly acutely aware of his appearance. His clothes were cheaply made, worn, and not all that clean. Heat crept up his cheeks as a new kind of warmth came over him; embarrassment. “I probably kind of stink,” he said, ducking his head down. 

“Hey, Ezra smelled worse when we picked him up. Don’t worry about it.”

“Hey!” Ezra looked indignant. 

“No, she’s right Ezra. I was tempted to burn your clothes…” Kanan’s eyes were twinkling a bit. 

Ezra shoved him, though it was clearly a playful move. “Shut up!” he grumbled. Kanan laughed and ruffled Ezra’s hair.

“Come on. I’ll get you those clean clothes and show you to the ‘fresher. I’m not sure where we’re gonna put you, yet. But I’ll figure that out before it matters.” Hera put an arm around Caleb’s shoulder and began leading him out of the room.


	2. Caleb's Refrain

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Caleb is distressed and tired. Kanan tries to talk to Hera.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So like. Content/trigger warnings for this chapter? There's like a slight mention of child abuse and the results of it.

Caleb’s plan had been to get in and out of the ‘fresher as quickly as possible. He hadn’t noticed the full length mirror on the back of the door until now. He stood, dripping on a towel, staring at his likeness in the mirror. Why did a ship’s ‘fresher even need a full length mirror? He’d been smiling, content with the information that after four years he’d escaped slavery. Not to mention, it had been a nice shower. He hadn’t made it a long one; he wasn’t going to use up all the hot water. But it had still been longer and warmer than any shower he’d had in the last 4 years. So it had been nice. He had been happy. 

Now, well...now he was just tired and annoyed. “Did my chest get bigger?” he wondered, glaring at the mirror. He blinked, and when his body came back into focus he began looking over the numerous scars that covered his flesh. His eyes fell on the one that extended from his shoulder to his elbow. No wonder the captain had taken notice of it. It wasn’t pretty. The longer he looked at it, the harder he had to fight against the memory that came with it. 

He sighed, closed his eyes, and turned away. Bending over, he began digging through the pile of dirty cloths on the floor, looking for the bandages he normally wrapped his chest up in. Caleb’s nose wrinkled as he picked up the scent of his old clothes. 

“Alright. I definitely didn’t smell fresh.” he thought to himself. He picked up most of the pile and deposited in the trash can that was in one corner of the small room. He began wrapping the bandages around his chest as tightly as he could, making a mental note to get new ones as soon as it was possible. He hadn’t been able to replace them in a few months and they were getting worn. 

Caleb sucked in his breath as he felt a pain in his back. “Right.” he muttered to himself. He had been in trouble with Davin recently, and the resulting beating had left its marks on his back. He’d grazed one with his none-too-gentle approach to getting dressed. Maybe the mirror would be good for something after all; maybe he could get a look at the fresh wounds?

With his back turned to the mirror, Caleb looked over his shoulder, his eyes sweeping over the damage he could see. It was mostly bruises, with some scabs from a couple of abrasions. There was one longer, deeper cut, though. It hadn’t completely scabbed over yet, and Caleb had a feeling it would end up scarring. This was especially due to the fact that he didn’t really have any way of properly caring for it. 

He closed his eyes and sighed again, turning his face away from the mirror. There wasn’t really anything he could do about it. Besides, it was over, right? Captain Hera and her crew were going to get him off-planet, and he wouldn’t ever see Davin again. He would make sure of that, even if he had to tap into the Force. He would fight tooth and nail not to be re-enslaved. If it came down to it, he would rather die. 

Shaking his head in hopes of clearing it, Caleb set to work getting dressed the rest of the way. He finished wrapping the bandages tightly around his chest and then moved to grab the neatly folded pile of clothes the captain had given him. 

The frown on his face stayed, perpetual, as he pulled the shirt over his head. The shirt was made of a tight and stretchy material that hugged his body. 

‘It isn’t that bad.” He tried to argue himself out of an anxiety attack before it could even begin. He’d managed to get his chest pretty flat, all things considered. The tightness of the shirt really wasn’t helping him out in this situation. He glanced longingly at the trash can in the corner of the room, biting anxiously on his lip. He was tempted to dig his old shirt out-- he didn’t want to come off as ungrateful, though. Not to mention, this shirt was made of a much more comfortable material. The pants were a looser, more comfortable affair that tied with a cloth belt. He could fit them however he decided, and that was a blessing. 

‘Move on. Doesn’t the idea of a bed sound nice?’ Caleb told himself. He began drying his long hair with the towel. It occurred to him that he could keep the towel wrapped around his shoulders for extra comfort, under the guise of his hair still needing to dry. He wished he had a comb or a brush, but it wasn’t something he was going to bother anyone for. 

Caleb wrapped the towel around his shoulders and walked out of the ‘fresher. He had a bad habit of keeping his eyes on his feet when he walked. This tended to lead to the problem of running into people.

Caleb stumbled back a bit after running into-- great, of course -- Kanan. He looked up at the man. “Sorry. I wasn’t looking where I was going--” he felt his teeth move to chew on his lip again, a nervous habit that he really needed to move past. 

Kanan eyed him warily for a moment, before shrugging. “You’re alright-- did Hera show you the room you’d be staying in?”

Caleb blinked, thinking. “No. Yes? I think so, I-- my mind might have been somewhere else--” he looked away, embarrassed. 

Kanan peered down at the boy. There was something about him...he just couldn’t place it.   
“Come on. I’ll show you. We haven’t got a lot of spare space, so you’ll have the extra bunk in my room.” he gestured for Caleb to follow him.

The door to the room slid open quietly and Kanan let Caleb walk in first. “Home sweet home. Until we can get you somewhere else.” he said as he followed Caleb in. 

Caleb made a beeline for the ladder that led up to the top bunk. “Thank you. I...I really appreciate all of this. I’m sure you weren’t expecting-- or wanting-- an extra person on board, but you--”  
Kanan was watching him closely as he moved up the ladder. “Hey. You’re a kid, alone, without parents or anyone to look out for you. What kind of people would we be if we didn’t give you what we could?” 

“In my experience? Normal-- I’m grateful, of course. It’s just...confusing.” 

Kanan didn’t like to think about what the kid in front of him must have gone through to get where he was now. He didn’t like to think of how long he’d been alone, scared, and hungry. He didn’t like to think about where he might have gotten the nasty looking scar on his arm, either. 

“Normal is overrated. Especially when it means ignoring those in need.” Kanan said, a bit of a scowl on his face. 

“You sound like my grandfather.” Caleb hummed. 

“Yeah?” Kanan wondered if Caleb would open up more than that.

Caleb nodded thoughtfully as he finished climbing into the bunk. “He was a good guy.” 

“I take it, uh-- was--” Kanan started. 

“Yeah. The uh. Empire. I mean. I don’t know. He might not be dead. He wasn’t the frailest guy in the world; he was pretty tough actually-- but. You know how the Empire is. The stronger you are-- the harder you fight against them...the more pleasure they get in snuffing out your light.” Caleb flopped back onto the pillow that had been provided with a sigh. 

Kanan started to ask a question. “Was your grandfather looking after you--”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” Caleb replied, his voice crisp and icy as he could manage. 

Kanan nodded, biting his tongue in frustration. “Sure. I get it.” For the third time since the boy had boarded the ghost, he reached out, into the force, trying to feel him. He couldn’t feel anything. 

Kanan sighed. “We’re going to be stopping on Raysho to pick up the rest of our crew and some supplies. We’ll probably make some food after that. If you’re hungry now we can--”

“I’m fine. Thank you. I’m going to sleep now.” Caleb’s reply was short. 

“Alright. I can imagine you’re tired. And a real bed after all this time...do you want someone to wake you up when foods ready?” Kanan asked.

“Please. I appreciate--”  
Kanan sighed and shook his head. “You don’t have to keep repeating yourself, kid. We know you appreciate it. You’re welcome. Get some sleep.” He turned the lights off as he headed out of the room.

Caleb sat bolt upright. “Wait. Can you leave the light on?” 

Kanan looked over his shoulder and saw Caleb’s face with the light from the hall. The kid looked panicked.

“Yeah-- I’ve got a lamp. Would that work?” Kanan asked.

“Y-yeah. I just-- the dark, it’s, I--” 

“No need to explain kid. We’ve all got fears.”

“I mean. I’m-- I’m not scared of the dark.” Caleb tried to defend.

Kanan raised an eyebrow at that, fully turning around to look at Caleb. “Yeah. If you’re not scared of the dark, then, uh. What are you scared of?”

“What lurks in the dark.” Caleb said. 

Kanan wasn’t sure what to make of that comment, exactly. He moved back into the room and turned the lamp by his bed on. “How’s that?” he asked.

“Thats, yeah. Thanks.” Caleb’s expression calmed some. 

“No problem. Get some rest.” Kanan said. When Caleb didn’t say anything else, Kanan left the room, the door sliding closed behind him quietly. He then headed down the hall and back towards the cockpit to talk to Hera. 

\-----

“We can’t leave him on Raysho.” Hera was scowling.

“We could leave him on Lothal?” Kanan suggested.

Hera made a face. “Who would we leave him with, though?”

It was Kanan’s turn to make a face. “What do you mean, who are we leaving him with? I mean, aren’t we just gonna set him down and--” Kanan made a shooing gesture. 

Hera punched Kanan’s shoulder. “He’s a little kid, Kanan. We can’t just send him off on his own again.” 

Kanan wasn’t looking at Hera. “I mean, he’s not a little kid and he looks like he’s been doing alright.” 

Hera put her hands on her hips and glared up at her significant other. “He definitely does not look like he’s been doing alright, Kanan. Did you see his arm?”

Kanan had realized how stupid he’d sounded not even a moment after he’d said it. Still...“I mean, what are we supposed to do, Hera? Adopt him? We’ve already got two-- three if you count Zeb-- four if you count Chopper--”

“Five if we count you.” Hera said, smirking. 

Kanan finally looked at Hera, and regretted it almost instantly; he knew that look. “Hera, you can’t be serious!”

“I am, Kanan. There's just something about that boy--”

“Yes. There is something about him. I can’t feel him in the force, Hera. I can’t figure him out.”

“Oh, so we should get rid of him, because you’re confused about something for once?” Hera argued. 

“Hera, that’s not exactly fair--”

“Save it,” Hera grumbled, “I’ve gotta go fly the ship.”

Kanan opened his mouth to keep arguing, but Hera put a hand up to silence him, before turning on her heel and walking away,

Kanan groaned, frustrated with the current situation. 

“Wow. You and mom are fighting a lot lately,” Ezra said, peeking into the room casually. 

Kanan sighed. “She wanted to--”

“Adopt Caleb? Yeah, I heard.”

Kanan raised an eyebrow, hands moving to his hips. “How much of that conversation were you listening in on exactly?” 

Ezra smiled sheepishly. “Haha. You know. All of it?” 

“So, what do you think?” Kanan asked, having a feeling he already knew where Ezra stood in this situation.

Ezra shrugged. “I like him okay. He saved me. I mean, I saved him too, but...I dunno, Kanan. He reminds me of me, kinda. He doesn’t have a family, he’s all on his own. He likes making trouble for the Empire….” 

“I get that, and I don’t necessarily just want to dump him off the ship--” 

“It sure sounded like you did,” Ezra challenged. He looked up at Kanan, confusion and frustration on his face. 

“I can’t feel the force with him. At all. It’s suspicious, Ezra. I don’t want to put the rest of the crew-- our family-- at risk.” 

Ezra nodded, having a hard time disagreeing with that sentiment. Kanan was used to protecting their little unit, and Ezra understood and appreciated that. In some ways, being on the Crew of the ghost was like having a family again. Sabine was like a cool, if not annoying, older sister. Zeb was the weird uncle. Kanan and Hera were like parents. Chopper was….well, Chopper was like having a dog with no manners; not that Ezra would ever be stupid enough it say that to the fiesty little droid. 

“I get where you’re coming from Kanan, really, I do. I just...I have this feeling. There’s something about him. Speaking of which, I don’t know if you were planning on hiding the Jedi thing from Caleb or not, but I’m pretty sure he already knows. Or at least has some idea.”

“When were you going to tell me that Ezra? What-- how do you know he knows? What has he said?”

Ezra shrugged a little. “He just...knew what my lightsaber was. I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, but you might want to ask him about it?”

Kanan closed his eyes and sighed. “That-- I think that might have been something to mention earlier, Ezra.”

“I didn’t, I guess because I thought you’d react badly,” Ezra admitted. “I’m sure there are reasons he could know what a lightsaber is without him being evil. And it’s pretty clear that he’s no friend of the Empire’s…” Ezra wrapped his arms around himself, staring at the floor.

Kanan wrapped an arm around Ezra’s shoulders as he stepped closer to the teenager. “You always want to do the right thing Ezra. You’re really compassionate, and you’ve come a long way. I’m really proud of you.” 

Ezra huffed, rolling his eyes. “Yikes Kanan, you’re getting sappy on me.” Of course he didn’t mean that. It meant a lot to him that Kanan thought he’d come a long way. 

Kanan knew as much and ruffled Ezra’s hair. He sighed, then wrapped his arm back around Ezra’s shoulder again. “I’ll look into it. I promise I’m not just going to try to get rid of him. I’m going to give him a fair shot, and keep your and Mom’s feelings in mind.”

Ezra smirked. 

“What? Why are you looking at me like that?” Kanan’s eyebrows scrunched together. 

“Mom’s feelings?” Ezra raised an eyebrow. “Mom’s?” he repeated.

Kanan huffed exasperatedly and gave Ezra a little shove. “Yeah, kid. If we’re a family, the captain of the ship is the mom.”

“Sure it’s not because you’re the head of the team and she’s your wife?” Ezra put his hands on his hips.

“Hera and I are not-- what gave you that-- Ezra.” Kanan’s face was going red with embarrassment. 

“Don’t tell her that,” Ezra whispered conspiratorially. “I’m not sure she knows.” Ezra winked and headed out the door. 

Kanan pulled him back. “Hey,” he grumbled. 

“What?” Ezra half whined.

Kanan pulled him into a hug. “You’re a good kid, Ez.”

“Uhg. Go smother Sabine, old man.” Ezra pushed Kanan away, but it was clearly meant jokingly. The teenager smiled warmly at Kanan and then left the room with another roll of his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote the outline for this chapter before I actually wrote it. Got halfway through what I meant to write and was like: wow this is gonna be really long and I lack motivation. 
> 
> So you guys get this and there should be more by this time next week. Hopefully. If you like it, please comment! Thanks so much! <3

**Author's Note:**

> There's so much AU shit going on here. Part of me is tempted to just post the whole alternate time line, but I've been told show: don't tell, so y'all will just have to wait and see whats going on. 
> 
> Some small things though. This is set during season two, but I'm not sure where yet. Very close to the beginning. Kanan is a little older. Like maybe 2-3 years older. Ezra is 16. You'll notice the tag: Hera is empath. Don't know if you have to be force sensitive in Star Wars to be an empath. Guess that makes Hera at least a little bit force sensitive then. She's just...like that. It's super mild but you'll pick up on it if you're keeping an eye out.
> 
> I don't want to post spoilers, but because of past issues with flamers I do want to warn y'all that this story will kind of center around an OC. If you don't want to read about an OC, don't read this fic and don't be a dick about it. And yes, there is a very specific reason why this kid's name is Caleb. We'll get around to talking about that later. ;) 
> 
> I did as much research as I could for this. I also talked to to friends who have been in the Star Wars fandom much longer than I have been. If you see anything that doesn't make sense or that you need clarification on please let me know. 
> 
> I'll be honest, half the reason I'm writing this is because I enjoy sharing with other people so please let me know what you think! Unless you absolutely hated it. Then don't tell me. Let me know if you have any thoughts on additional tags.


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